Grassini Gives Back Raises $132,000 for Domestic Violence Solutions

On one Sunday in December each year, Grassini Family Vineyards hosts an extraordinarily generous event that raises funds for a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit by not only donating event proceeds, but also nearly doubling the impact with a generous match. This year, the lucky recipient of Grassini Gives Back was Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS), which provides shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. All the day’s tasting fees, silent auction proceeds, raffle ticket sales, and donations went to DVS, and Grassini matched all the tasting fees, raffle ticket proceeds, and donations — regardless of the size. This amazing generosity resulted in a whopping $132,000 raised for DVS. Since inception eight years ago, the event has raised more than $323,000 for worthy area nonprofits. 

Grassini Family Vineyards (GFV) CEO Katie Grassini, daughter of winery founders and owners Larry and Sharon Grassini, related how this is her favorite day of the year and shared how her family “feels honored to bring this event to life each year.” The family understands, Grassini related, “how fortunate we are to have our tasting room in such a beautiful town, and we welcome every opportunity to give back to our local community.” Larry and Sharon echoed these sentiments, relating how fond they are of the community and how much they want to support it. Starting the family foundation, Larry added, was also a way to get all their children accustomed to the importance of giving back.

GFV sought to maximize the event’s bounty by encouraging the public to attend and encouraging DVS to rally its supporters to donate at the event to double the impact. GFV and DVS both sought out silent auction and raffle items from area merchants. For those who couldn’t make the event, GFV encouraged donating and buying raffle tickets online — all amounts of which it matched.  This is clearly a winery with a big heart.